Certain rodent traps capture rather than kill rodents such as mice, rats, and the like. From these traps, the rodents must be transferred for extermination and disposal. In conventional transfer methods, the rodents are generally dumped into a collection container for transport and subsequent extermination, thus permitting the trap to be immediately reset. During such transfers, rodents sometimes escape requiring the recapture of a somewhat wiser animal.
To eliminate the possibility of escape, a portable exterminator has been devised which is designed to couple to certain types of animal traps, such as those described in our patent application entitled "RODENT TRAP," filed on Nov. 20, 1974.
The portable exterminator is designed to collect for transport and, if desired, exterminate collected rodents from numerous traps. The collected rodents can be subsequently disposed of according to accepted health regulations.
The exterminator comprises a box-like container having a removable top. The box-like container includes a horizontal divider plate that, when in position, defines upper and lower chambers. The divider plate is retractable, allowing rodents dropped through the open top of the container to fall to the lower chamber when the divider plate is retracted.
The box-like container has, at the top, a flat inset rim with a peripheral seal which hermetically seals the container when the removable top is latched to the container. The underside of the top is constructed with a porous material which may be impregnated with a vapor-producing liquid for asphyxiating or anesthetizing rodents collected in the hermetically sealed container.
The flat inset rim is further designed as a peripheral seat for the rim of a container-type trap, allowing the trap to be temporarily coupled to the exterminator during transfer of rodents from the trap to the exterminator.
A viewing window in one side of the exterminator allows the inside chambers to be viewed during the transfer and extermination process. These and other features will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment.